I’ve been meaning to make another medicine ball workout for awhile now. I really enjoy how different the challenge is from, say, a dumbbell workout. I know I mention all the time how the grip is a big part of the workout with kettlebells, and that’s true for medicine balls, too. I mean, basically there is no grip – your open palm has a lot less control than a closed-fist grip. And it’s good to practice with things that are tough to control.

They also provide such a terrific (and terrifically difficult!) balancing surface. I have a client who is always surprised at how hard it is to hold a plank position on the ball, and every time, I remind her that it’s a ball. It’s a tiny and unstable surface, so of course it’s hard! To which she generally responds, “Tiny and unstable, huh? So the ball is YOU?” Ha!

Yes.

This is a fun progressive workout, which means that it starts off “easy” and gets tougher as we go. You can follow along in real time with the video below, which includes a nice bodyweight warm up, or feel free to print out this breakdown and take it with you.

Warm up by doing the bodyweight-only version of these exercises 10x. Then set your timer for 10 second intervals. Do all exercises in a row before taking a rest. The rest interval is only as long as it takes you to reset your timer for the next round. Round 2 = 20 seconds, Round 3 = 30 seconds, etc. until you reach 1 minute intervals.

Overhead to High Knees

Wood Choppers

Alley Oops

Wall Balls

Russian Twists

Mountain Climbers

Finisher: at the end of the last round, do not take a rest, but go directly into a 1-minute Plank Hold on the ball.